PECO warns customers of resurfacing scam

If you have fallen victim to this, contact PECO and the local police.

If you've received a phone call warning that your gas or electric service is in danger of being cut off, PECO is urging you to contact the police.

The energy company has issued a warning to its customers throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area of an old scam that has resurfaced in the last few weeks, CBS Philly reported.

Imposters are calling customers, instructing them to purchase prepaid debit cards to pay their bills to avoid a service outage.

"The scam claims the customers are behind on their account and must make immediate payment to avoid service termination," PECO’s Ben Armstrong told CBS Philly.

"The customers are then directed to contact a number that they are provided with by the caller to utilize the card for immediate payment to their account," Armstrong said. "Once that information is provided to the scammer the funds on that card are wiped clean."

The scam has already cost customers thousands of dollars.

"Customers should never provide their social security number or banking or credit card information via the phone unless they have initiated the call," Armstrong said. "We would never call a customer and tell them to go to a local pharmacy or to a local convenient store to purchase a prepaid debit card, then to come back and read us the information from that card."